Numbing Blows
by Irasi
Summary: "The name of a man is a numbing blow from which he never recovers."  Teddy, Victoire, Dominique, Louis, Molly, Lucy, Fred, Roxanne, Rose, Hugo, James, Albus, Lily, and Scorpius think about their names. A series of one-shots.
1. Teddy Remus Lupin

**Disclaimer: **J.K. Rowling is a goddess and the Creator of all things Harry Potter.

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_"The name of a man is a numbing blow from which he never recovers." — Marshall McLuhan._

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**Teddy Remus Lupin**

He's always been Teddy, not Ted.

Whenever people first meet him and call him by his real name, he always tells them flatly, "It's Teddy."

He's never really thought of himself as "Ted".

To him, Ted is the brave Muggle-born who boldly refused to give in to the corrupted Ministry of the Dark regime. Ted is the man who managed to survive for months on the run from the forces of the Dark Side. Ted is the hero who ended up being slaughtered by Snatchers, refusing to surrender to the very end. Ted is the only one who can bring Grandma Dromeda, one of the strongest women he knows, to tears.

He's not Ted.

He's just Teddy, Teddy Remus.

He's not Remus either. Remus is one of the infamous Marauders, one of the creators of the famed Marauder's Map. Remus is the best friend of James Potter and Sirius Black. Remus is a prominent member of the great Order of the Phoenix, renowned for his courageous undercover missions and awe-inspiring duels. Remus is one of Harry Potter's favorite teachers, the man who taught him how to produce his signature Patronus. Remus is a werewolf, but one who refused to let his illness define him. Remus is a legend.

He's not Remus.

But he keeps _this_ name.

He keeps this name because Remus is his father, the father he will never know. The father that will never read stories to him, never tuck him into bed at night, never teach him how to fly, never see him off on Platform 9 ¾, never have man-to-man talks with him, and never tell him, "I love you."

The name is all he has.

So he's Teddy Remus. Teddy Remus Lupin.

It's a name to be proud of, he thinks. It's a name he likes.

Especially when Victoire calls him her little "Teddy Bear".

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**A/N:** Tell me what you think! Reviews make my day a whole lot brighter :)

I love you all :)

~ Irasi

Update 8/2/13: I edited some grammatical and stylistic stuff, as well as the sentence on Remus's werewolf aspect.


	2. Victoire Isabelle Weasley

**A/N:** I owe you all a huge apology. I'm sorry. My life has been really not-so-great for a while now, and that's no excuse, but there you are. Anyway, I really think things are looking up, so I'll try my hardest to be a better updater. Stick with me, yeah? :)

Here's the next chapter (finally).

**Disclaimer: **J.K. Rowling is a Goddess and the Creator of all things Harry Potter.

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**Victoire Isabelle Weasley**

She squirms in Daddy's lap. She said she wanted to come, she wanted to show that she was grown up now, being eight years old starting today, but she's not so sure if it was a good idea anymore.

It's boring.

It's her birthday. It shouldn't be boring.

Teddy's not here. His grandmum wouldn't let him come. It probably wouldn't be as boring if he were here.

She wriggles around again, and Daddy pats her leg. "Stop that, Vicky. Listen."

She sits still and listens. Daddy and Maman's friend, Kingsley – the Minister of Magic – is at the podium in front of the Black Lake, making a speech.

" . . . And today, we celebrate a victory . . . "

She tunes out after that. _Victory_. That's what her name means. That's where her name comes from. Because a billion years ago (in her mind), Maman and Daddy – and Grandmum and Granddad and Uncle Charlie and Uncle Percy and Uncle George and Auntie Angie and Uncle Ron and Auntie Hermione and Auntie Ginny and Uncle Harry and Auntie Luna and Uncle Neville and the unknown Uncle Fred, Uncle Remus, and Auntie Tonks – fought in a war. And won.

It was a big war, Daddy tells her. One that was fought before, then stopped (by Uncle Harry, when he was a _baby_, Teddy tells her), then started again. A war against a bad man who tried to kill people like Auntie Hermione, just because their parents were Muggles.

She doesn't really understand all of it (not that she'd admit that to Dominique or Louis), but she knows it's important. She knows that today – the second of May, her birthday – is important. She knows that her name is important.

So she bears it. She bears the disjointed birthday parties she always has, because Auntie Andromeda won't come, and Grandmum and Uncle George look sad, and Teddy is distracted, and Auntie Hermione, Uncle Ron, and Uncle Harry come late. She bears the weighty name that was dropped onto her: _Victoire._ People always stare at her when she tells them who she is.

She bears it, because even though she gets annoyed and upset with it all sometimes, in a way, it makes her important. And she thinks it's all quite fitting, what with her being the oldest Weasley kid, because she bears it for her younger siblings and cousins, too.

They never need to know what it's like having a name like hers.

Later, she goes up to sign the guestbook with Daddy and Maman. Daddy signs first, then Maman. Once they're done, Maman helps her up onto the little stool in front of the book and hands her a quill.

Victoire looks down at the page in front of her and signs at the bottom.

The last two lines now read:

_Fleur Isabelle Weasley_

_Victoire Isabelle Weasley_

Their names are almost exactly the same. "Isabelle", Maman told her, is a traditional Delacour name, given to the eldest daughter. Victoire doesn't know why, but Maman seemed to think it was a good enough answer, so she doesn't ask again.

She's very like her mother, people tell her. She certainly looks a lot like her. They both have long, straight, fine blonde hair, though Victoire's has the slightest hint of red. They both have wide blue eyes, straight white teeth, and pale delicate features.

They both like reading and baking and dancing. They both like gingersnaps and macaroons and peppermint tea. They both like kittens and dresses and Daddy. And they both have a tough side that surprises everyone who first meets them.

Maman is the most beautiful woman in the world, Victoire thinks (and Daddy agrees, so it must be true), so she's glad people say she's like Maman.

But she's not _totally_ like Maman.

Maman hates the winter; Victoire loves it. Maman loves bouillabaisse; Victoire hates it. Maman always loves Dominique; Victoire sometimes hates her. Maman says mean things sometimes, over the tiniest things; Victoire never says mean things, except if it's something really, _really_ bad.

So she's kind of like Maman. Which is good, because she loves her Maman. Maman is beautiful and funny and strong and always wants to know how her Vicky is doing. Maman is one of the best people in the world, and Victoire wants to be like her when she grows up.

But she also wants to be Victoire.

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**A/N:** Hmm . . . I'm not sure how I feel about this piece. So how about you guys tell me how you feel about it? ;)

And just in case:

"Maman" is French for "mom"/"mum".

Bouillabaisse is a Provençal (meaning it's from Provence, in the southeast of France) seafood stew. It was mentioned in GoF, at the feast to welcome the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students.

And I think a recap of the Next Generation kids would be good here. Siblings are listed from oldest to youngest:

Bill and Fleur: Victoire, Dominique, Louis

Percy and Audrey: Molly, Lucy

George and Angelina: Fred, Roxanne

Ron and Hermione: Rose, Hugo

Ginny and Harry: James Sirius, Albus Severus, Lily Luna

Draco and Astoria: Scorpius Hyperion

And that's that.

Dominique is next!

I love you all :)

Irasi

Update 8/2/13: I edited some grammatical stuff that wasn't transferred from my word document to the published version and the cringe-worthy misuse of "bare" instead of "bear". I also added the tough aspect of Fleur's personality, which I think Victoire would also have, that I'd overlooked when I first wrote this.

Also, thanks to BlackKristin's review, I think I should address Lorcan and Lysander, Luna and Rolf Scamander's children. At this point, I'm not including them in this fic because I don't have any ideas for what to write for either of them. But that may change in the future.


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